Literature Revie
Critical Literature Review:
The Five Theories of International Relations
Lebanon Valley College
Alex Kirchner
Understanding International Relations is very important in our society today. It’s important to understand how global states handle certain economic and political conflicts that arise and how the basic framework of their society works. In order to properly understand these relations it is vital they we fully comprehend the five major theoretical schools of thought that are discussed in international relations. This paper will summarize, classify, compare, and contrast both the differences and similarities of these five theories along with their outlooks on power and war with references to the security dilemma. I will also provide what I believe to be the most significant school or schools of thought and how understanding each of these concepts is important when dealing with international relations. The five Theoretical Schools of thought are as followed: * Realism * Liberalism * Marxism * Constructivism * Feminism
Power and War
Each school of thought is made up its own concepts, ideas, and core values about power and war. These provide the basic framework for society and lay out who makes the decisions how the structure of international relations is to be handled. Each theory has its own assumptions on where the power is allocated and how the power is used. For example, Realists shift most of their focus in gaining the most resources and using that those resources to survive. In order to obtain power nations must accumulate material resources and build up military strength. In realism the power resides within the sovereign states .Liberals on the other hand think that democracy and community is the way to go and power is both hard and soft. Nations will strive to be capitalistic and believe in free markets among nations and that nations with common interests will tend to get along. Realism and liberalism are the two most
The Five Theories of International Relations
Lebanon Valley College
Alex Kirchner
Understanding International Relations is very important in our society today. It’s important to understand how global states handle certain economic and political conflicts that arise and how the basic framework of their society works. In order to properly understand these relations it is vital they we fully comprehend the five major theoretical schools of thought that are discussed in international relations. This paper will summarize, classify, compare, and contrast both the differences and similarities of these five theories along with their outlooks on power and war with references to the security dilemma. I will also provide what I believe to be the most significant school or schools of thought and how understanding each of these concepts is important when dealing with international relations. The five Theoretical Schools of thought are as followed: * Realism * Liberalism * Marxism * Constructivism * Feminism
Power and War
Each school of thought is made up its own concepts, ideas, and core values about power and war. These provide the basic framework for society and lay out who makes the decisions how the structure of international relations is to be handled. Each theory has its own assumptions on where the power is allocated and how the power is used. For example, Realists shift most of their focus in gaining the most resources and using that those resources to survive. In order to obtain power nations must accumulate material resources and build up military strength. In realism the power resides within the sovereign states .Liberals on the other hand think that democracy and community is the way to go and power is both hard and soft. Nations will strive to be capitalistic and believe in free markets among nations and that nations with common interests will tend to get along. Realism and liberalism are the two most
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